14 DAY TRIAL // Toshiba decided to expand the portfolio of its famous mobile technologies with the addition of the gigabeat MP3 player. The U-Series is a freshly designed digital music player with direct-to-MP3 player music technology, FM tuner and radio recorder.
According to Toshiba, every gigabeat U-Series Mp3 player comes equipped with a 2GB NAND flash drive, providing enough space for storing nearly 500 songs and 2,000 photos. Moreover, users can easily and conveniently transfer songs from CDs directly to the gigabeat U-Series through its line-in headphone jack. As a result, users who are away from their computer can still transfer music without having to first copy it onto a computer by ripping it directly into the gigabeat, meaning more time for the listening experience.
In addition the manufacturers have outfitted the Gigabeat with an internal FM tuner and recorder, so that the user can store funny memos directly on the device just for fun, not to mention the users can easily listen to their favorite live radio station feeds or record a song to be enjoyed later. The Gigabeat can store up to 10 preset radio stations.
Jeff Barney, vice president of marketing, Digital Products Division, Toshiba America Information Systems stated: "We are very proud of the new gigabeat U-Series. It's the perfect straight-forward device for users who are looking for a way to take their favorite songs with them everywhere. And beyond being easy to use, it's aesthetically beautiful."
Indeed, the device looks nicer than expected and comes in a wide variety of 24-color version, to please any customer. Too bad it cannot play videos like other Gigabeats. The U-Series are strictly Mp3 players that feature a Zune-like design-or not?- and have a 1.1-inch OLED screen. Regarding the player's capabilities, it can easily deal with the most important file formats available on the market, such as: MP3, WMA and WAV.
Weighing in at 1.48 oz, the gigabeat U-Series is a light weight, palm-sized device that's available in either a stunning silver or black aluminium enclosure. Each gigabeat sports a chrome PlusPadTM control button and a rich color 1.1-inch OLED display for a more profound visual experience. The result of such attention to detail is an MP3 player that's durable, easy to navigate and striking to look at.
The gigabeat U-Series' Li-ion battery supports up to 20 hours of continuous playback and plays today's most popular audio file formats, including MP3, WMA and WAV. For enhanced audio quality, the gigabeat U-Series' built in equalizer allows users to adjust the sound output by using preset settings or by manually adjusting the highs and lows.
The Toshiba Gigabeat U-Series is compatible with Windows Media Player version 10 and above, making the transfer of entire media collections a few simple clicks away. It also supports JPEG file format and its sound can be customized with one of the 6 equalizer modes. As Toshiba claims, the Gigabeat U-Series has a starting price of $99 and is available online.